Third Amendment: Troops won’t be moving in

Just 32 words in all, the meaning is straight-forward: “No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”

Just 32 words in all, the meaning is straight-forward: “No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”

It means the federal government can’t force you to allow soldiers to bunk up in your guest room.

That’s just not sexy enough to grab the kind of headlines that go to issues such as a right to bear arms or freedom of speech. In the 222 years since it was ratified, U.S. Supreme Court justices never have heard a case that was based on it. And only a couple times ever have they even mentioned the amendment in one of their decisions. And when is the last time you saw a Third Amendment march or protest?

“You could say it’s the single most successful amendment in history,” said Paul Finkelman, a President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law at Albany Law School in New York. “No one has ever challenged it in a serious way.”

Military troops simply aren’t forced to live with us.

Instead, you pay taxes so the military can house them in barracks, government housing or issue them stipends for houses and apartments. One of those barracks, not typically seen, is inside the U.S. Coast Guard station at Marblehead, on the shore of Lake Erie near Cedar Point amusement park.

IT’S HOME

“The food is really good here,” said Coast Guard Fireman Christopher Vanderwest, as he surveyed the Marblehead lunch room, where a handful of people dined on fajitas on a recent afternoon.

Vanderwest is a 20-year-old originally from Muske-gon, Mich. He only is a year removed from a boot camp at Cape May, N.J. He doesn’t mind his accommodations, because he grew up on the water and loves to fish.

In all, less than two dozen people are stationed at Marblehead. Only four live in the barracks. Vanderwest’s quarters include a bunk bed, TV set, microwave, refrigerator, bathroom, desk, dresser and closet — and on a clear day, an incredible view of Kelleys Island, which is four miles offshore.

The station opened in 1876 and has been rebuilt two more times on the same Lake Erie shore location through the years. The current version, a four-floor brick building, was built in 1981.

The Marblehead site is set up similar to a giant fire station. Lockers. Workout rooms. A communications room. Training rooms. A workshop and boathouse. The crew even has its own dog — a black Labrador Retriever, “Murdock.” The Gaelic origin of his name means sea warrior or protector of the sea.

The station is part of Sector Detroit, which falls within the 9th Coast Guard District. The crew at Marblehead is responsible for enforcement and search and rescue missions on a 458-square-mile area of Lake Erie, from the Davis Besse power plant, east to Vermilion, and north to Canada. Coast Guard duties include everything from water and ice rescues to safety checks on noncommercial pleasure boats.

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IT’S ALL ABOUT GEORGE

When James Madison penned the Bill of Rights, quartering of troops was an issue fresh in the minds of Americans. During the colonial era, before the American Revolution, colonists often were forced to provide room and board for British troops. It was one of the complaints about King George III included in the Declaration of Independence: “For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.”

Americans wanted guarantees, said Finkelman, a constitutional history and law expert who has written more than 150 scholarly articles and 30 books.

“It was a direct result of the American Revolution,” he said. “At one time, one-fourth of the people living in Boston were British soldiers ... imagine 20,000 people walking around Canton with muskets.”

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Military personnel in U.S. installations

Active

Army 537,407

Air Force 286,683

Navy/Marines 264,375

Reserve/National Guard 819,318

Civilian personnel

Army 709,265

Air Force 160,339

Navy/Marines 186,135

Source: U.S. Census

Third Amendment in court

Engblom v. Carey (1982), heard in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is the only significant Third Amendment case to reach a federal court. A group of New York prison guards were evicted from their prison housing at Mid-Orange Correctional Facility when they went on strike. National Guard troops temporarily moved in. Two guards filed suit, but the court found they had no standing because the prison owned the housing.